how is she?

Question

I have noticed that this sentence can have two meanings in Spanish.

how is she? - ¿cómo está ella?

how is she? - ¿cómo es ella?

Then "how is she?" is similar to "what is she like?". I mean, they can be used to ask about her personality. Is that? Are they interchangeable?

Answer 1

To say ¿cómo es ella? in english you say: What is she like? and ¿cómo está ella? you say: How is she? so the answer to your question is that they are not interchangable

simple and effective, great;) - 00494d19, ENE 16, 2010

Answer 2

"How is she?" (refers to her health or state of mind) for example:

Q - How is your sister?

A - She's fine!......... she has a cold ............ she's depressed.......... etc

"What is she like?" (refers to her personality, her shape, her size etc) for example:

Q - What is your sister like?

A - She's a nice person ........... she's beautiful .......... she's 6 feet 3 with pink hair ..... etc

"How is she like" is not used.

Una cosita - decimos Is that it?

Is that it? sounds like Greek fo me. But, of course, you know how languages work. You have to learn some things by heart. - nila45, ENE 16, 2010

Nila - "it" = the "idea"......is that the idea? Is that it? - patch, ENE 16, 2010

Answer 3

And as an American I would question your teacher also. We would never ask "how is she" in referring to personality. Generally it would be used as questioning the health and state of mind of the individual as in a casual conversation, ie; "How is your mother?" or "How are your children?". Unless you were asking specifics such as "How is she in the kitchen?" or "How is she with children?" meaning what is her capablity in working in the kitchen or with children.

Also Nila, the fact that you have written it as a complete, albiet short sentence, the H should be capitalized as are any words beginning a sentence in English. - Yeser007, ENE 15, 2010

Okay, if the question was for the english then this is a good explanation. But english correction: ...used to question the health... - Lasairfiona, ENE 15, 2010

Or ...used for questioning... or ...used for asking about... - Lasairfiona, ENE 15, 2010

Yes, I agre.e and thanks for catching it. I'm going to leave it unedited for learning purposes - Yeser007, ENE 16, 2010

Answer 4

It is because esta comes from estar and es comes from ser.

They both mean "to be" but estar is taking about transitive states of being (estoy feliz) and ser is talking about things that are always about that person (Soy una pelirroja).

So ¿cómo está ella? is how is she right now and ¿cómo es ella? is how is she all the time (what is she like).

Now that I have looked at your profile I realize that this may have come off as patronizing (she's fluent in spanish). I'm sorry; I did not understand your question. - Lasairfiona, ENE 15, 2010

Answer 5

In English, "How is she?" would always correspond to "Cómo esta ella"

"Cómo es ella" would be translated as "What is she like?".

Answer 6

nd the other is ¿Cómo es ella? - How is she like?

Mediterruneo, the structure: How is she like does not exist to my knowledge, it has to be "What is she like"

Answer 7

If your choices are "How is she?" and "What is she like?" the former corresponds to "¿Cómo está (ella)?" and the latter to "Cómo es (ella)?" Since I am 100% certain that you have no problem/are familiar with the ser/estar disjunction ...

Answer 8

but one is ¿Cómo está ella? - How is she?

and the other is ¿Cómo es ella? - How is she like?

They are two different sentences in both languages

if you ask: ¿cómo está ella? you´re asking about her state of mind or her health, for instance, not about how does she looks like or what kind of person she is.

Answer 9

Then...

how is she? can also mean "¿cómo es ella?. (personality).

Actually, I am insisting in that because a teacher said to me:

You use: how is she? when you are asking for a short descriptcion of the personality.

And you use: what is she like? when you are expecting a more detailed description of the personality.

And I was not completely sure about that.

Answer 10

Thank you, now I am sure that "how are you?" cannot be used to ask about your personality.

Answer 11

Then....

how is she? = what is she like?. (To ask about personality)

And they are interchangeable in this context.

But, to me, 'How is she?' would always ask about state, not personality (I answered below before I saw your answer) - Jespa, ENE 15, 2010